Seven Minutes in a Photobooth
by CountTheCrows
Summary: With three weeks left of their senior year, Bay and Emmett decide to play hooky and end up in an photobooth, having a much needed conversation. What will be the end result? One-shot.


Seven Minutes in a Photobooth

Emmett sat in English and found himself torn. On the one hand, he had three weeks of high school left. _Three _weeks. Where did the time go? Wherever it went, it sure flew by fast. He mused what many referred to high school as; the time of their lives. And in certain ways, it was. He had Daphne and his other friends, and...Bay. He'd always be thankful for high school because that is when one Bay Kennish came into his life, and no matter how messy or painful things were between them, he could never ever regret meeting her or being with her. Regretting Bay was akin to regretting being alive, or your heart beating.

But as much as he enjoyed high school, or the aforementioned parts of it, he was completely bored out of his mind. Knowing he had three weeks left made it only more difficult to force himself out of bed in the morning. He really had no desire left to sit in class and deconstruct _Madame Bovary_. Sue him. It's not that he wasn't smart. He was. Usually he enjoyed learning, but not today. After all, it was a beautiful spring, nearly summer, day and all he wanted to do was take photos. Besides, come the end of August he'd be in school for four more years. There was plenty of time to soak up all the knowledge he could.

All of the sudden, he felt his phone buzz.

**I'm bored. Mr. Sanchez is droning on about something. I think I fell asleep. I detect drool on my shirt. Want to sneak out? [Bay]**

A grin appeared on his face. Spending uninterrupted time with Bay? Duh. Who would say no to that. Certainly not Emmett.

**Sure. Meet me in five minutes? [Emmett]**

**:) Can't wait! [Bay]**

He raised his hand.

"Ms. Drake, can I have a pass to go to the nurse? I'm not feeling well."

Emmett's reputation for being a good student gave his teacher no reason to not trust him or doubt him. A few minutes later he was in the parking lot, looking for Bay.

"Hey!"

"Hey back!"

"Did you have any trouble getting out of class?"

"Me? Nah. Everyone loves me, especially the ladies," Emmett said with a wink.

"I can attest to that."

Was she flirting with him? Suddenly Emmett felt like today was going to be an extremely good day. But there was a little voice in the back of his mind telling him not to get too excited. He had been here so many times before. Truthfully, he and Bay were in a great place, almost as good as when they were dating. With all the time they spent together and the laughs and inside jokes they shared, you would think they were together. And there had been many accidental touches. Unfortunately, they weren't together, which sucked. But Emmett wanted Bay in his life. He still thought if he waited long enough, Bay would be his again and all of this time apart would be worth it. The pain would be worth it. The dreams he had about her. As hard as it got, he could never let go of that hope. Bay was the love of his life. So for now, he'd be a glutton for punishment.

"So, where to Ms. Kennish?"

"Well, Mr. Bledsoe, I'm thinking Laser World."

"Sounds like a blast."

"Yeah. Much better than this place."

"Indeed."

They lingered there for a few seconds, and as usual, it was palpable; the love they still shared. The love they would always share.

"Come on, Bledsoe, don't wimp out on me now."

"Me? Wimp out? Never. Just don't go crying when I kick your ass in about twenty minutes."

"Ha. You wish."

Emmett extended his hand to her and they walked over to his motorcycle. He gave her the extra helmet he had, and in that moment, he couldn't help but remember _the_ helmet. He never told Bay, but after the worst night ever also known as prom, he walked back to his bike dejectedly and noticed her helmet was missing. He saw it floating in the lake. It made him feel like crap, but he couldn't blame her. He just hoped one day he'd be able to offer her a new one and that she would accept it.

But amidst his sadness, he realized something. This was the first time since they broke up that Bay had been on his motorcycle. He took it as a good sign. His heart fluttered when she wrapped her arms around him. Oh, he wished this could be more than a one-off. Well, to be technical, she'd have to ride this way again when he dropped her off back at school to get her car, but he wanted this to be a continual thing. Forever.

When they arrived at Laser World, Bay hopped off.

"I forgot how fun it is to ride with you. It's so exhilarating."

Exhilarating. Like being in love with her.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've missed having you on here," he said, patting the seat.

"I've missed being on there."

She smiled. He smiled back.

"Ready to get your ass kicked?"

"Damn, Bledsoe. You are cocky."

He smirked.

"Not cocky; confident. There's a difference, Kennish."

She just shook her head.

"I knew you'd be trouble from the first time I showed up at Carlton after you blindsided me with that kiss."

"What do you mean?"

"I was pissed. You kissed me, out of the blue, and I was ranting and raving and you asked me if I was done, and kissed me again. It was as if everything I said didn't matter."

Bay was smiling, but Emmett suddenly became serious.

"It mattered. It always matters. It will always matter."

"Of course," she said, trying to shrug off the obvious tension. "I was just saying you were cocky then."

"Confident. Not cocky."

And they were back to their fun banter. A few minutes later, they found themselves in the arena and for the next hour, they chased each other around a dark room hitting each other with fake laser beams. When they came out to get their scores, Bay found out she lost, much to her chagrin and dismay.

"Ugh. You suck."

Emmett shrugged his shoulders.

"Not my fault if you can't keep up with my awesomeness."

"Ha! I demand a rematch."

"You want to go again?"

"No, not there. Air hockey. The arcade."

"Are you sure, because, it's going to be majorly painful when I once again, make you eat my dust."

Bay stuck her tongue out at him.

"So cocky."

"Confident."

And so they made their way to the arcade and played a round of air hockey. Again, Bay lost.

"I'm starting to feel like I have a complex. I'm a loser."

Emmett drew her into a hug.

"You could never be a loser."

"Right. You cheated because I was a winner."

She meant it as a joke, but clearly it didn't come out that way.

"You don't really think that, do you?"

"We shouldn't do this here," Bay said, beginning to walk out of the arcade. But he didn't want to let her go. This was a conversation they needed to have. They sort of had it at the end of last summer, although his explanation left something to be desired.

"No, we need to do this." Emmett spotted a photobooth. He grabbed her hand. "Let's go."

When they went in, Emmett pulled Bay onto his lap.

"Really? You want to do this in here?"

"Yes."

"Emmett, this is ridiculous."

"No, what is ridiculous is us not being together because you're too scared to ask the question and I'm too afraid to answer. So, let's put all of our cards on the table. Or in the booth."

Bay sighed.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah. I guess. It'll be like seven minutes in heaven, only in a photobooth."

"Exactly."

She waited a few seconds before asking.

"Why did you do it?"

"I wanted an escape. I was in pain, in so much pain, but none of that excuses what I did. Simone had Vodka. I wanted _that_. I didn't want her. I never wanted her. It just happened. I don't even know how. One minute we were drinking and the next – do you want to hear this, Bay?"

She gulped.

"I think I need to."

"We were drinking and she kissed me and I wasn't thinking. I don't even think I realized it was happening. It was just an extension of the drinking, of an escape."

Bay thought about what he had just said, and then:

"Did you do it to get back at me?"

"No!"

"But why, why weren't you thinking about me? Shouldn't I have been there, in the back of your mind?"

"You should have, but I was being selfish. I wanted to only think about me."

"Did it really mean nothing?"

"Less than nothing."

"Would it mean something if we slept together?"

A look came across Emmett's face that Bay had never seen before. It couldn't be described.

"More than you know."

"Do you – do you still love me?"

Emmett looked deeply into her eyes.

"Do you think I ever stopped?" And then, "Do you think I ever _could_?"

"I guess I think everyone could at some point."

"Bay, never. Not even when I'm dead."

"But what if I could never get back together with you? You'd move on, right?"

The thought killed him. Never.

"Not really. I guess I'd have to accept that decision, and I guess I'd have to try to move on, but nobody will be what you are to me."

Suddenly, Bay's lips were on top of his. He had forgotten how good of a kisser she was. He didn't want to stop, but he had to. He had some questions of his own.

"We can't."

"I thought you wanted this."

"I do, but I have questions, too."

She nodded.

"Okay."

"Did you just do that because you are feeling down about yourself?"

"No. I would never use you like that."

"Do you think you could fall in love with me again?"

Bay laughed.

"You think that's funny?"

"A little."

"Why?"

"Because, when did I ever _stop?_"

"But then why?"

"I'm scared."

"You don't have to be."

"You said that before. Maybe not in those words, but you said it."

"I know."

"How will I know it won't happen again?"

Now Emmett laughed.

"Do you think I've learned nothing? I would be the dumbest idiot in the world to go through what we have gone through, get you back and throw it away again. We've been apart nearly two years and it has been the hardest two years of my life. I never want to feel this way again. That's how you'd know."

Bay stayed silent for a few minutes.

"Bay?"

"I just don't get it."

"What? What don't you get?"

"I'm selfish. I'm self-centered. I make myself the victim. I vandalize the city. I can be horrible. Why do you love me?"

"Because I see you, the real you. The one that counts. All of what you just said is so untrue and that's what makes you even more amazing. You believe it is. You're so unwilling to give yourself a break. How could I not love you?"

She didn't seem convinced.

"You saved me, Bay."

"Emmett, you were doing fine without me. If we hadn't met –

"Don't. Don't ever say that. I wasn't doing fine. I was existing. Once I met you, I started living. There's a difference. You think you made my life worse? You made it exponentially better."

"But ever since we broke up, I've put you through hell."

"I deserved it."

"I'll never make it easy. I live for the drama."

"Then sign me up for the front row."

"You really love me, don't you?"

"More than you know."

"One more thing, Emmett."

"Yeah?"

"I just want you."

Emmett smiled and kissed her.

He was right. Today had turned out to be a great day.


End file.
